Edsel's Model A

[Bruce Adams]

I found this in my Mustang-Shelby Club Newsletter this month and since they say it came from Hemmings I have no reason to question it.

EDSEL'S SPECIAL PHAETON
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It’s no surprise that Edsel Ford’s personal Model A received a number of upgrades in the aesthetics department; Edsel continually pressured his father to jazz up Ford’s products. More surprising, however, is the fact that Edsel’s personal Model A spent 50 years in a dairy barn hidden away from the world and that it won’t make its debut as a fully restored car until next month, when it crosses the block at Gooding’s Scottsdale auction.
As a member of the team that developed the Model A, Edsel Ford made sure to infuse it with some of the same styling that made Lincoln a standout in previous years and thus address the criticism that Ford’s Model T lacked style. In doing so, he earned hard-won praise from his father: "We’ve got a pretty good man in my son," Henry Ford said upon the introduction of the Model A. "He knows style – how a car ought to look."
Considered one of his crowning achievements, the Model A could still benefit from some upgrades, Edsel fig-ured, so in 1929 he and his father approached LeBaron to create a special one-off Model A. They specified a dual-cowl phaeton – a body style Ford never offered in the Model A lineup – built about two inches narrower than a standard Model A and with a number of custom touches, like the laid-back windshields, the Victoria-like back panel, smooth cowl sides, and elongated front fenders. As was LeBaron’s practice, its craftsmen built the body in aluminum over a wood structure. To the black-painted body Edsel and Henry added Stephen Grebel headlamps, a center-mounted Klaxon horn, exposed chrome detailing, and patent leather splash aprons. Pow-ered by a standard Model A four-cylinder, the chassis still featured a number of modifications, including a com-pletely custom frame, a rear axle narrowed by eight inches, a factory-dropped front axle, and cantilever rear springs similar to those found on a Ford Model AA truck. "There’s really not much on this that’s from a stock Model A," said Chris R
Though Mann’s still has a few details to finish, Roberts said the phaeton will be ready for Gooding’s Scottsdale auction, scheduled for January 18-19, where the phaeton is expected to sell for $325,000 to $400,000.

[ctlikon0712]

We discussed this just a little while ago. I thought it very interesting too.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...=Edsel+Phaeton

[Bruce Adams]

Thanks
I will look it up
We were without electricity for a while and it might have been then.

[Ken Ehrenhofer]

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I just found out it came out of a barn just a few miles from my home. last year I bought some parts from the same barn.......just my luck lol!